Gunsight



March 10, 1970 w, SQUIER ErAL GUNSIGHT Filed Feb. 2'7, 196'? FIG. 1

INVENTORS.

- WELLS M SQUlER B6B R. JENNY By 71W, KM W f" HTTORNE'YS nited States3,499,224 GUNSIGHT Wells M. Squier, 1712 SE. 19th Ave., and Bob R.Jenny, gfig sn. 19th Ave., both of Pompano Beach, Fla.

Filed Feb. 27, 1967, Ser. No. 618,946 Int. Cl. F41g 1/02, l/08 U.S. Cl.33-47 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relatesto gunsights and more particularly to sighting apparatus of the typeincluding front and rear sights cooperating with one another to form asight picture when aimed at a target.

Many gunsights using front and rear sights are known. However, knownsights are subject to one or more disadvantages including complexity,difiiculty in use, susceptibility to human error, obstruction of thesighting picture by the elements of the sight, and lack of a precisepoint of aim resulting in impaired accuracy.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide agunsight of improved construction overcoming the disadvantages of knownsights.

Another object is to provide a gunsight which does not obstruct thesight picture and which is extremely accurate.

A further object is to provide a gunsight capable of being aimedrapidly, even at a moving target.

Another object of the invention is to provide a gunsight with which thepossibility for human error is minimized, and which can be usedsuccessfully even by inexperienced persons.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved sightingapparatus of simple construction.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will appear asthe following description proceeds, and the features of novelty whichcharacterize the invention will be pointed out with particularity in theclaims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

For a better understanding .of the present invention, reference may behad to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the barrel portion of a rifleprovided with sighting apparatus constructed in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1illustrating the front sight;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional View along the line 33 of FIG. 1illustrating the rear sight;

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating the sight picture as it appears to a userof the sighting apparatus;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a front sightcomprising an alternative embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view along the line 6-6 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating the sight picture formed by the frontsight of FIGS. 5 and 6, and also illustrating an alternative rear sightconstruction.

Briefly, a gunsight constructed in accordance with the present inventionincludes a front sight and a rear sight. The rear sight includes twosighting elements extending radially inwardly toward a point and forminga V shape,

atent "ice and the front sight includes a single vertically extendingsighting element. When the sight is aimed at a target, the verticalelement of the front sight is brought into alignment with the point ofthe V defined by the elements of the rear sight, thus forming an easilyrecognizable Y shape. Horizontal accuracy is achieved by bringing the'vertical element of the front sight in line with the point of the V, andvertical accuracy is effected by lining up a particular point on thefront sight element with the point of the V. For short range sighting,the upper tip of the vertical element is aligned with the point of theV, and for longer ranges graduated indicia may be spaced along the frontsight element.

Referring now to the drawing and initially to FIG. 1, there isillustrated the barrel portion of a rifle, generally designated as 10.The rifle 10 is equipped with sighting apparatus embodying the featuresof the present invention, including a front sight generally designatedas 12 and a rear sight generally designated as 14, these being mountedin spaced positions along a gun barrel 16. Although the sightingapparatus is illustrated herein as used with a rifle, the apparatus haswide application and may also be used, for example, with shotguns orhand guns.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the front sight 12 includes a blade orvertical sighting element 18 supported by a mounting block 20 welded orotherwise secured to the barrel 16 near the front end thereof. The blade18 lies in a vertical plane passing through the center of the riflebarrel 16, and when viewed from the rear as in FIG. 2, the blade appearsas a narrow vertical line.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 3, the rear sight 14 is supported adjacentthe rear of the barrel 16 on a mount ing and hinge block 22 welded orotherwise secured to the barrel. The sight 14 includes a body member 24having a tongue 24a received in a slot 26 in a mounting member 28, andthe body 24 is held in a selected vertical position by a lock screw 29engageable with the tongue 24a. The mounting member 28 and body 24 pivotwith respect to the block 22 about a pin 30 so that the rear sight maybe moved between its normal upstanding position and a folded positionillustrated in broken lines in FIG. 1.

The upper portion of body 24 includes a band like support 24bsurrounding a substantially unobstructed region which may be termed thefield of view visible to a person using the sight. A pair of sightingelements 32 and 34 are supported by the band 24b and extend radiallynward, converging toward and meeting at a point in the field of view.The sighting elements 32 and 34 are illustrated as comprising pinsmounted in holes in the band 24b, but they could be formed integrallywith the band, and they could comprise an integral single element, ifdesired. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the sightingelements 32 and 34 are each at an angle of approximately 60 from thevertical and thus include an angle of approximately The front sight 12and the rear sight 14 cooperate with one another when the gun is sightedat a target to produce a sight picture as illustrated in FIG. 4, whichfigure best illustrates the novel features of the present invention. Thepair of sighting elements 32 and 34 appear in the Sight picture as a V,while the sighting element 18 of the front sight 12 appears as avertical line. When properly aimed at a target point, the elements 18,32 and 34 appear in the sight picture as a Y.

More particularly, when the gun is properly aimed in a horizontal plane,the sighting element 18 is lined up with the point of convergence of therear sighting elements 32 and 34. When the apparatus is properly aimedin a vertical plane, the upper tip of the front sight element 18 lies atthe point of convergence of the rear sight elements 32 and 34. Thus,when the front and rear sights are properly aimed, the user sees a Yfigure formed by the three sighting elements 18, 32 and 34, and thecentral convergence point of the Y can easily be aligned with thetarget. Since the Y is an easily recognizable and a familiar shape, thepossibility for human error is minimized, and sighting apparatusconstructed in accordance with the invention has been successfully usedby people with little experience.

The three sighting elements 18, 32, and 34 are sufficient for extremelyaccurate, pin point sighting, but do not substantially obstruct thefield of view as is the case with many known sights. It has been foundthat with the sighting apparatus of the present invention, sighting maybe accomplished rapidly, accurately, and effectively, even with a smallor a moving target.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, there is illustrated a front sightgenerally designated as 12" ditfering from the front sight 12 of FIGS.1, 2, and 4 in that it is provided with a series of graduated verticallyspaced indicia 36 for sighting the gun at various ranges. The indicia36, f r example, may comprise horizontally disposed bars mounted uponthe rear edge of the blade 18 of the front sight. The bars 36 arearranged so that at different ranges a different element 36 is lined upwith the point of convergence of the rear sighting elements. Forexample, at a fifty yard range, the upper tip of the blade 18 may beused, while the elements 36 can be used in descending order as the rangeis increased by increments of approximately fifty yards.

In FIG. 7 there is shown a rear sight 14', illustrated only in part,including a pair of converging sighting elements 32 and 34' whichconverge toward a central point but which terminate just short of thepoint. This arrangement of the rear sight functions in the same manneras the arragnement described above, and may be preferred in someconstructions.

FIG. 7 illustrates the sight picture obtained with the front sight 12 ofFIGS. 4 and 5 used with the rear sight 14. When the sights are properlyaligned the three sighting elements 18, 32 and 34' form a Y shape whichdoes not substantially obstruct the sight picture. The sightingapparatus is illustrated as it appears when the sights are aimed for arange of 150 yards.

While there have been illustrated and described particular embodimentsof the present invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in theart that various changes and modifications may be made without departingfrom the invention in its broader aspects, and it is thereforecontemplated in the appended claims to cover all such changes andmodifications that fall within the true spirit and scope of theinvention.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent ofthe United States is:

1. Gunsight apparatus for sighting at a target com prising a pluralityof nontransparent sighting elements, including front and rear sightssupporting said sighting ing elements having means defining a field ofview obstructed only by said sighting elements when the gunsightapparatus is aimed at a target, said plurality of sighting elementsconsisting only of first and second sighting elements supported by saidrear sight and having a thickness in a direction normal to the directionof sighting such that they substantially define lines in the field ofview, and a third sighting element supported by said front sight andhaving a thickness in a direction normal to the direction of sightingsuch that it defines substantially a line in the field Of view, saidthird sighting element being vertically disposed, said first and secondrear sighting elements being arranged at an angle with respect to oneanother and at equal angles with respect to a plane defined by saidthird sighting element, said first and second rear sighting elementsterminating substantially at a point, said third sighting elementadapted to intersect said point when the sighting elements are sightedat the target, said third sighting element terminating at said pointwhen there is no range correction.

2. The gunsight apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first and secondsighting elements extend upwardly and outwardly from said point.

3. The gunsight apparatus of claim 1 wherein said front and rear sightsare properly aligned on a target when said sighting elements define a Y.

4. The gunsight apparatus of claim 1 wherein said third isghting elementincludes a plurality of vertically spaced indicia selectively alignablewith said point for sighting a target at different ranges.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,339,723 1/1944 Russell 33-47806,142 12/1905 Herrick 33-57 817,331 4/1906 Olson 33-5l 2,256,4119/1941 Russell.

FOREIGN PATENTS 74,398 12/ 1944 Czechoslovakia. 75,528 9/1949 Norway.

LEONARD FORMAN, Primary Examiner STEVEN L. STEPHAN, Assistant ExaminerUS. Cl. X.R.

